Lowrie gets help from replay on fourth homer

By Brian McTaggart / MLB.com

HOUSTON -- After disappearing underneath the third-base stands in the eighth inning of Saturday's 8-2 win against the Cardinals, it only took the umpires a matter of seconds to give Astros shortstop Jed Lowrie his team-high fourth home run of the season.

Lowrie followed a Carlos Lee double in the eighth inning with a towering fly ball to left field that hit the top of the wall and rolled back toward the infield, allowing Lee to score. Lowrie stopped at second with a double, but the umpires reviewed it.

Television replays clearly showed the ball hit a piece of Plexiglas just above the yellow line, which ballpark ground rules constitute as a home run. Astros manager Brad Mills said several players watched the replay in the clubhouse and informed him it was a homer, and third base coach Dave Clark tried to get his attention on the field.

"I commend those guys for getting together and going to check," Mills said of the umpires.

Lowrie was able to finish his home trot as the Astros pulled away to win, 8-2.

"I knew it came back really hard, and there's that padding up by the top of the wall, so [Mills] came out and made that point," Lowrie said. "Paul [Emmel], the third-base umpire, said he heard a little gong, and that's the only reason they looked at it, but I'll take it."

Lowrie, acquired from the Red Sox in December, went 1-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored to extend his hitting streak to eight games. He's batting 9-for-17 with two homers and six RBIs in the first five games of the team's nine-game homestand.